Elaborating on the screen point, I've been hands on with several tablets now including the Xoom and the iPad (in my opinion) has the most comfortable screen to use in terms of viewing angle, colors, and general "looks".

However, if you are worried about the B&N and Amazon apps being pulled, Apple has no history of disabling apps or content that's been pulled without a real security reason. If you have the apps downloaded to your computer now and they're pulled tomorrow, you will still be able to use them. Not as comforting as the drama with in-app purchases being over, but it is a point to consider. (I used the Tris for about 2 years after it was pulled by a copyright claim from the Tetris company before Tetris finally had a version that could compete and lure me away)